Gods Can Bleed
by Ensign Klutz
Summary: Sequel to "Gods Do Not Bleed". A mission makes Superboy question his friendship with Robin, but during the same mission he comes to terms with why Robin is Robin. It's now Conner's turn to defend his friend and he's rewarded with a name he was promised.


**Gods Can Bleed**

** Chinese Fairy: **Well, this is when I can say "Thank Ra for Spring Break!" I have a lot of spare time and I think I will finally write to me hearts content. However, I do not want to update "Pawns Can Feel Too" so soon, so here is a one shot for bonding time with Robin and Superboy! They are so adorable, I cannot resist~!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything all of the rights to "Young Justice" belong to their rightful owners such as Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. and D.C Comics! Yeah, in case no one saw my other disclaimers, nothing changed recently.

With that said, enjoy yet another story~

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**Gods Can Bleed**

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"Are you serious? You're not joking, right? You're serious?" cried Kid Flash as Batman continued to stare indifferently at the ecstatic speedster. Robin stifled a laugh at his mentor's subtle changes in his posture at having to deal with an excited Kid Flash.

"I am not a joking," he said with more intimidation lacing his voice and this made Wally realized who he was questioning. He chuckled sheepishly before taking a step back to stand safely next to Megan.

The Dark Knight turned his attention back to the viewing screen and a zoomed-in an image of the Indian Ocean. "There has been an increase of pirate raids in the Principality of Seychelles. Several fishermen boats and two cruise lines have been attacked and left for dead; the Justice League thought it would be a chance for you all to attempt another mission outside the United States."

They all winced or glanced at the floor at the mention of Biayla and knew that that mission did not win them any points with Batman.

"Do we have a rough idea what they target or where they most frequent?" questioned Aqualad, the Batman nodded and zoomed into Seychelles.

115 dotted islands appeared on a deep blue canvas that shimmered slightly to indicate the currents of the sea. "The attacks have mainly struck along the southern islands, which are not part of the inner 25 districts. Mainly, the Cosmoledo Group and the Farquhar Group have had the most damage and there is a hermit on Providence Island that informed the coast guard that he spotted these pirates before they vanish north bound."

Batman typed in a command and the images of the outer islands closed in on five islands and a few additional coral reefs. "This section of islands is known as the Alphonse Islands. There are five islands with a few atolls and sand cays making up this group. In this island chain people are only able to inhabit the island Alphonse; the other four are uninhabited and this is where logic plays its part."

The Boy Wonder stepped up to his mentor and typed something into the super computer. A moment later, a video footage appeared on another screen that showed currents and the sea floor. "Providence Island is that last island of the Farquhar Group and since the self-proclaimed hermit came to the coast guard with information stating the pirates were traveling north," he paused and a yellow triangle began moving a slight northeast until it stopped at the Alphonse Islands.

"When we compute currents, wind velocity, and the educated guess of the size of their ship, we come to a choice of three islands: the St. François and Bijoutier; the third island is not even named since it resembles an islet." He encircled the islands via a touch pad and a red circle surrounded the three islands south of Alphonse and north of Providence.

Batman nodded to his son's words and came to the conclusion. "You all will go the three islands and report your findings to Red Tornado who will be on stand-by waiting for your updates. You simply check the three islands and return to Mount Justice. This time we will take these out of state missions slowly." He avowed.

Superboy wanted to argue the case that they have been on a role of successful missions and should deserve to take down the pirates, but then bit his inner cheek. _"Patience; Clark said to have patience and good things will come."_ He paused his mental musings and smiled, _"He sounds like a fortune cookie sometimes…"_

After Robin gave him his name and Superman finally had the courage to talk to him, Conner earned a last name and the right to join the Kent family. One conversation opened the flood gates for more meeting and over the span of three months Superman and Superboy had a better understanding of one another. Finally came the one weekend where he was offered to visit Jonathan and Martha Kent for the first time. Superboy quickly turned to his best friend Robin for help and along with his "father", the Boy Wonder also went to visit Clark Kent's family.

Superboy was smiling to himself and zoning out when Kid Flash's exuberant voice cut off his musings. "Can you believe it? Pirates! I never thought those guys still existed even today! Isn't this cool?" he clung to Robin's arm and hopped up and down.

Aqualad was talking to Artemis and Megan watched the speedster and Boy Wonder with a smile. Superboy also noticed how Robin was laughing at something Wally said and Conner found himself thinking, _We have been a team for almost eight months, but he still hasn't told me his real name yet, even at the Kent's house, he was still called Robin…"_ his expression grew pensive. _"I thought we would be on first name basis, but is because of Batman or because he doesn't trust me?"_

Almost like magic, Robin sensed his friend's change in attitude and pulled away from Wally who was now jumping into a story about a "Jack Sparrow" with Megan who was listening intently.

He closed the distance between Conner and himself and offered a warm smile. "What's with the sad face?" he spoke; Superboy frowned and replied gruffly, "Nothing," Robin saw right through the lie and pressed the clone.

"Come on, Conner. What's eating you?" the said Metahuman's eyebrow rose in a perplexed manor. "Eating? Nothing is eating me- never mind that. It's that…" he glared at the smooth cement floor and did not respond for a few moments. Robin was about to speak up, when Superboy beat him to it. "I thought we were friends; good friends." Robin's domino mask rose similar to when his eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Of course we're good friends, Conner. Why would you think that we are not?" he asked; Robin quickly thought about every encounter he had with his friend and out of all the memories from the last month, nothing bad stood out. _"Was I not on my best behavior when I met the Kent's?"_ he made himself stop his trek of thinking and saw Superboy's soul piercing blue eyes staring into his white-eye covers in his mask.

"Then what is your real name?" he asked; the Boy Wonder blinked the shock away and glance back to where Batman was shutting off the system in the room and sighed. "Conner now is not the time for me to be telling you me name. Batman is here and he ordered me not to tell any of you." Those said blue eyes turned cold as the clone grounded out, "So you lied to me when you said one day you would tell me your name?" a bitter smile crossed his lips. "At least I know I'm not special to you, just like the others. I'm still treated like them and you won't ever tell us your name."

Before Robin could respond, the Boy of Steel turned and walked away from him and towards the Bio-Ship bay alongside Megan and Kid Flash. Artemis suddenly appeared by his side and stared at the three Metahumans backs.

"Our clone friend is being moody again?" she asked. Robin shook his head and clarified, "He wants me to tell him my real name, but Batman ordered me not to. I mean, I _want_ to tell Conner my name, but…" his voice faded as his mind blanked out; he didn't know how to express how he felt regarding the confrontation.

The archer nodded in contemplation before responding, "It is a tough choice; either you betray Batman's order and please a friend or you keep your promise to your boss and maintain a 'professional' relationship with Superboy." Her smile was slightly sad, "It sucks when you can't have it both ways, but then here's something you haven't considered."

At this, the Boy Wonder turned to her, "What? What haven't I considered?" he asked; Artemis's smile grew in encouragement. _"He sounds like a child trying to right a wrong."_ And outwardly, she added, "You can just tell Batman your best friend deserves to know the hero you and the real you. Superboy knows you both are friends, but sometimes an act of faith is needed."

Robin laughed at her knowledge and replied, "You are quick-minded Artemis, is this how you always seem to outsmart Wally?" her smile turned into a smug smirk, "Of course." was her answer.

Aqualad and Batman walked over to them and the three Young Justice teammates left the meeting room with Batman shutting the doors close and he made his way down the opposite corridor to where the Batplane was stored. _"If I leave now, I can make it home in time to eat dinner with Tim."_ He thought and subtly, his pace quickened.

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A flight from Maine to the Republic of Seychelles usually takes a 7/47 plane 18 hours, and that is also including different time zones, but with the Bio-Ship nearly breaking the sound barrier, the Young Justice Team made it to the Alphonse Islands in six hours.

"We are approaching an altitude of 152.4 meters from the ground. Are you sure you want to drop from this height? I can drop lower." M'gann offered as she directed her ship to hover 500 feet from the waves that mixed and clashed in the ocean. Kid Flash grinned and shook his head, "Nah, we can do it!"

Aqualad unbuckled his restraints and turned to Kid Flash. "You and I will go out first and investigate the island of Bijoutier." He said while putting the compact communicator into his ear. Wally did the same and tapped the ear piece once his yellow mask covered his ears. "Ready to go!" he cheered. Kaldur turned to Megan and spoke, "Artemis and you will check out St. François and report in." he then turned to Superboy and Robin, "We'll leave the last island to you both. It's a small islet so it won't take long." Conner turned to stare out the window and Robin nodded to his leader.

Artemis glance at the sulking Kryptonian and then to the uncomfortable Birdie. Kid Flash and Aqualad made it to the back of the ship and opened the hatch; "Geronimo!" called out Kid and he jumped out first. Aqualad nodded to them all before jumping out as well. Both were falling without a parachute and the speedster had his arms tucked in and his legs straight; causing himself to fall faster.

The Atlantean had his arms and legs stretched out to prolong his fall and before Wally West hit the water, he began running while falling; this created a wind to form around him and this cushioned his fall. The second his feet touched the water, his form began running in a circle. This in turn allowed water to begin swirling around him and Aqualad removed his channeling weapons from his back and used the sea water to make a disk.

Without any problems, he stepped on top of the manifested disk and manipulated the water from the twister Wally made to descend. Five feet from the surface, Kaldur dropped the sea water and dove in.

He took a personal moment to himself to breathe in through his gills the same salt water that gave him life for 15 years prior to joining the Young Justice Team. He looked up and saw Kid Flash running on top of the water with not a care in the world. Kaldur swam upwards and broke through the surface with a rejuvenated feeling coursing through him, "Come on, the island is over there!" he called over the waves.

Without saying another word he dove under again and began swimming with the same grace as a dolphin. Kid flash followed him while he ran of the surface; a grin threatening to rip his face in half. _"Pirates, here we come!"_ and they continued rushing towards the island of Bijoutier.

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Superboy and Robin were getting out of their seats when Artemis called from her computer monitor, "We are once again at the altitude of 152.4 meters. We need to drop lower Birdie; otherwise you may not survive the fall!" she called out as the wind swept into the Bio-Ship. The Boy wonder shook his head. "No! Batman's report said that if we drop any lower than 5oo feet, the pirates may be able to see us from their radar!"

He was about to pull on a parachute that was brought along for Artemis and himself when suddenly, large hands picked him up and held him close like a football to a football player's chest. Superboy held him close as he jumped out of the Bio-Ship without another word to the archer or the Martian.

Robin felt exhilarated as the winds swept pass him and the air was so hard to breath in he was breathless. In order for him to catch a breath, the Boy Wonder had to hide his face into the crook of Conner's neck. Superboy felt this and attempted to cover the younger hero with his large shoulders; it helped slightly and he pulled away slightly from his friend. From behind his domino mask, Dick Grayson saw how Conner was being extra cautious to keep him safe from the winds and the incoming impact with the water. The clone of Superman may not have noticed it himself, but he had an air of determination around him and his face was set in a firm expression that somehow expressed a statement of "I will keep him safe".

"Here comes the impact, Robin!" Superboy shouted and they separated. Conner hit the water with a large splash while the Boy Wonder, who was protected from the wind, was able to dive right in without any complications.

He broke the water surface to take in a large breath and saw Conner swimming towards him. The younger hero laughed and ushered towards the islet. "Come on, our island is the smallest out of all of them and should take less time than the others!" he said and they both began swimming towards the smallest island of the Alphonse region.

_**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**_

Artemis didn't need to use the parachute that was packed away for her since Megan offered to fly them both down to the island of St. François. The Bio-Ship entered rest mode the moment Megan and Artemis jumped out and it maintained its spot in the sky while it was also camouflaged. They were leisurely floating down and after a few long moments, the Martian landed softly on the sand with the protégé of Green Arrow offering her a smile, "Thanks," she offered before turning to face the jungle. "Let's start here and split up. You take the left side of the island and I'll take the right. We'll meet up on the other side!" Miss. Martin nodded and she flew off.

The archer ran through the jungle terrain and a smile crept onto her lips. _"This feels just like training with Cheshire-"_ she cut herself off quickly and prayed that Megan was not listening into their minds; especially hers. Artemis shook off the unsettling in her stomach and continued trekking through the green foliage that allowed her to disappear from sight.

M'gann M'orzz blinked and paused midflight to glance over her shoulder. _"I thought I just sensed guilt from the direction where Artemis was running through… Must be my imagination."_ The Martian thought before resuming her flying and after twenty minutes they found nothing.

They both met on the other side of the island with small smiles as they took in each other's postures that no pirates were found. "Shall we contact Aqualad and inform him of our situation?" asked Megan; Artemis shook her head and sat down on the beach. "I say we enjoy five minutes of peace before we are stuck in the Bio-Ship with Wally." She said with a grin. Megan nodded and sat down next to her new best friend.

"Artemis, may I ask you something?" she questioned. The said archer nodded as her lithe fingers played with the soft white sand. Megan moved closer and remained silent for a moment, contemplating whether or not the pros outweighed the cons and asked, "Do you like Kid Flash… like as in a girlfriend like?" Artemis's blue eyes widened near comic size and she stuttered, "M-Megan! Wh-where did you get such a d-dumb idea? O-Of course I don't like W-Wally like that!" she was blushing madly and abruptly stood from her spot to move closer to the water.

The said Martian stood up from her seat on the beach and moved to float next to Artemis. "Don't worry, Artemis, he likes you too." And he hugged her close via her shoulders.

Artemis looked at the waves leisurely licking the sandy shore and mentally smiled, _"That is nice to know…"_ she thought and they both enjoyed a few moments of peace and quiet.

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Kaldur and Wally stood on the beach as the sun hung close to late afternoon over them. The air was surprisingly comfortable for spring and there was not a cloud in the sky. "I cannot believe there were NO pirates here!" whined Kid Flash as he slumped to the sand with his knees making inaudible thuds.

Aqualad smiled at his friend's drama and replied, "You know that this was a mission based on an educated guess from a super computer, so there was also the chance that there was nothing to gain from this trip."

The speedster nodded and sighed, "I thought it would be cool to take down a pirate or at least _see_ one, but we got nothing-" his rant was cut short when Robin's voice echoed through all the communicators.

"We found the pirates! They are in pursuit of Superboy and me. We'll try and take them out before they can hurt-" the connected broke momentarily before Robin's voice returned, "Conner! Conner you need to keep moving! Come on!" he shouted and the line went dead.

The two male heroes opened another channel and Megan answered, "Go ahead, Aqualad." She spoke

They were now already running to the water with Kid Flash zooming towards the southernmost island with Kaldur close behind him swimming. He dove underwater and took off like a shot and at the same time he was multitasking. He ordered to Artemis and Miss. Martian, "Get to the island and give them a hand. If something took down Superboy, then there is no guarantee that Robin will be safe!"

"Got it!" called out Artemis and Megan summoned her Bio-Ship to come to her and remove itself out of "rest mode".

It appeared a moment later and they both ran inside. Artemis took the navigation chair and Megan took the pilot's seat. "It will take us five minutes to reach the island! We're almost there!" she called out into the communicator. None of the male heroes responded, but she knew they heard her.

"_I only hope Superboy is okay!"_ she thought as she urged her ship faster.

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The unnamed island was smaller than the others in the Alphonse group, but it had more caves and nooks that made the search longer and more tedious. Robin and Superboy both stayed together as they searched the islet and after the second cave, the Boy Wonder slumped against the stone mouth. "There seems to be nothing here… If there was, I bet you would've heard it." The younger one of the two commented as they walked away from the second cave and towards another one nestled on the beach. This cave was actually swallowed up by high tide, but fate has granted them access and the water only made it to their ankles.

Superboy shook his head and responded in a weak voice, "Yeah, I thought so too, but right now I feel really… Weird." The last word tasted strange in his mouth and Robin stopped dead in his tracks.

"_Conner's never felt weird before. What the Hell?"_ he thought as he moved closer to Superboy and gasped as he found his friend sweating slightly. He removed his right glove and freed his smooth hand to rest it upon Superboy's forehead. He had a fever.

Robin was now panicking and cursed when he realized what was wrong with his friend. "There's Kryptonite on this island!" he quickly pulled out his communicator and started connecting to the others.

"Freeze!" ordered a man's voice; he sharply turned to a group of men dressed in rags and tattered clothing and he had to smirk and the crappy irony. "The smallest island is the one inhabited by pirates…" he murmured bitterly. Superboy noticed them through his blurry vision and cursed himself. _"What the Hell is making me feel so lousy?"_ he growled inwardly and he moved to charge towards the enemies.

The Boy Wonder saw this and gasped, "Superboy, no!" he cried. In a split second, Robin threw several smoke pellets around Conner and himself and made a run for it. Extremely disturbed by how easy it was to yank his best friend around when Kryptonite was affecting him. He opened up a channel on the Young Justice Team's frequency and yelled, "We found the pirates! They are in pursuit of Superboy and me. We'll try and take them out before they can hurt-"

He was cut off as Conner stepped wrong and he tripped. The clone fell forward and tumbled on top of him and Robin cried out in startled protest. "Conner! Conner you need to keep moving! Come on!" he shouted and rolled the clone and himself over as a line of bullets from a mac-10 hit the jungle floor where they were laying a moment ago.

He managed to maneuver Conner to slump onto his back and attempted to run with the heavy Metahuman weighing him down, but a hand grabbed at his head and yanked him backwards. He cried out in pain as Superboy fell from his shoulders and the pirate that held by his hair cackled, "Isn't this that Bat-whatever's partner? What the Hell is he doing with a kid version on Superman?" he asked in a thick French accent.

Robin moved to get out his hold, but the barrel of a gun digging into his temple froze him. "Do you think I'd let you get away from us when you could fetch a pretty penny from the Justice League?"

This question posed by the pirate made the Boy Wonder chuckle, "The Justice League would never pay a ransom for a protégé. You might as well let us go!" Shouted and cries of surprise took the pirate and Robin off guard as the battle cries of Aqualad and Artemis were heard from their position.

A smug smirk crossed the young bird's lips. "You hear that? My friends are now taking out your friends and soon you will be all alone with us." Mocked Robin; the man's hand began shaking, but he ignored his own plight and began tugging the teenager in another direction; leaving Superboy slumped onto his knees.

The pirate and hero soon found themselves on a faded path in the jungle that lead them to the other side of the island where a boat was waiting just for them "I'm going to ransom you off to those heroes and I will make big bucks from you, kid! If not, then they will lose a future hero." He reasoned in a calm voice which made Robin shiver unconsciously. The man continued to half drag and half lead the teenager closer and closer to the boat when someone yelled.

"LET HIM GO!" ordered Superboy. He was leaning against a palm tree for support as his haggard breathing showed he was still being affected by the Kryptonite. The pirate pointed his gun back to Superboy and replied, "I-I know you and Superman share that 'S' on your chest! I know that Kryptonite affects you!" he yelled and pulled out a necklace with a brilliant green crystal chained to a faded silver chain.

"You share the same weakness as Superman and he cannot take a bullet when he is this weakened like you are now…" the man clicked back the hammer and pointed the gun at the large "S" that was acting like a target. Robin took this one chance and elbowed the man in the gut he fired. Superboy cried out in pain as his left arm was grazed by the bullet.

As the man tried to regain his ground, Robin began hurling punches and kicks towards him and an array of attacks. Punches and kicks connected to the man's torso, arms, face, and thighs as an anger swept through his body like a wild fire. "How dare you hurt my friend!" he yelled another kick to the pirate's stomach. "He is the Boy of Steel and you, a pathetic pirate hurts him?" a punch connects to the man's lower jaw, breaking it. "I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS!" he shouted.

Deep in his mind, the Boy Wonder now knew exactly how his friend felt when they took down Harold Cummings; he now understood. _"It now makes sense, Conner."_ He thought as he pulled back his right fist for one more punch, when a large hand grabbed him by the wrist.

"Stand down, Robin." Ordered Aqualad; Robin realized how breathless he was as he moved himself away from the bloodied pirate, but he stopped and moved back to yank the necklace off him. "Give me this, you asshole." He growled and the man cried out in sheer panic; it almost sounded like Batman possessed the teen for a second, but it passed and no one else heard it.

The Boy Wonder ran to the beach that was twenty feet away and threw the necklace as far as he could. It swung in revolutions while in flight and soon it plopped into the water; it was fifty feet away from the beach he was standing on.

Kid Flash appeared by his side and placed a supporting hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Superboy is already healing." He said and the two took off back into the jungle.

The pirate that shot Superboy was already tied to a palm tree with the rest of his group and Artemis was tying them up extra tight. They all whined in protest, but they fell on her deaf ears. "I say we contact the coast guard and wait for them to arrive before anything else happens." Artemis offered as she turned to face the rest of her team.

Megan was inspecting Conner's arm, Aqualad was leaning against a palm tree, and Kid Flash and Robin were returning to the group. The archer was about to usher everyone away when she saw Robin's expression. She didn't need to see his eyes to know the teenager was intently staring at the graze on Superboy's arm.

She turned to Kaldur, Megan, and Wally; "Come on guys, I think when I was navigating the Bio-Ship I messed up the navigator and the beacon as well." They all understood her subtle sign and they all nodded, "Right, come on. We don't want to be stuck out here when it gets dark." Reasoned Kid Flash and he ran off with Artemis following him. Aqualad helped Miss. Martian up from her spot by Superboy and they left as well.

The ambience of the small jungle surrounded them as Robin awkwardly stared at his boots and Conner gazed at the small rivulet of red blood that oozed from his wound. The Boy Wonder glanced up and saw it too; he moved closer to his friend. While taking the few steps to be next to the clone of Superman, Robin ripped some of his cape off in the shape of gauze and began wrapping the wound. After the third loop around the arm, the makeshift bandage did not need to be held in place, so he spoke, "You know, when we got to the boat, I was going to take him down."

That one sentence made Superboy scoff and he growled back, "I highly doubt that, but okay. Besides, I wasn't going to let him take you away." He hissed as Robin tightened the bandage.

"I… I was so scared just now," whispered the Boy Wonder. This took Conner off guard as he saw that his best friend's face was gazing downward. A small hiccup escaped the thirteen year old teen as he continued in a weak voice. "I lost my parents when I was eight years old and since then I've been so scared that I would lose another important person, that it makes me…" he faded off; it seemed like an hour passed before he looked up to meet Superboy's gaze. While his head was lifting up, his right hand moved to peel off his domino mask and his watery blue eyes met Conner's shock orbs.

"It hurts to think of losing you or anyone else on the team, Conner. Please don't do something so stupid ever again. You have to promise!" It was meant to be an order, but Robin's voice was weak so it didn't hold the firmness of an order.

Superboy pulled his best friend close and replied, "No, I won't promise you anything like that, Robin. I won't because I am your best friend and you are mine. It is not fair that you can jump in front of a bullet for me and I cannot do the same for you. I will do whatever it takes to protect you, Robin."

A moment skipped over them before the said younger hero mumbled something; Conner didn't hear him and pulled back from the hug. Even with his super hearing, it only came out like a muffle.

Robin repeated what he said, "Conner Kent, my name is not 'Robin'; that my title. My name is Dick Grayson." Their eyes met and steps of emotions crossed Superboy's face: bewilderment, shock, acceptance, and then happiness.

Dick saw that Conner wasn't going to speak so he defended his reason, "You are my best friend, Conner and I should have told you my real name sooner, but an order from Batman is something not easy to disobey. I've only disobeyed him twice in my life; this would be the third time and all I could say is I'm glad I didn't listen to him."

Superboy nodded in an understanding way. "Thank you, Dick." He murmured, he brought the smaller hands into his own larger ones and continued, "Thank you for being my friend."

Dick Grayson squeezed Conner Kent's hands in support and replied, "Thank you for making me realize that some secrets are worth sharing."

The jungle ambiance swallowed them whole again, but they didn't care; the way they felt was expressed and now their friendship made them closer than anything else they owned.

_**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**_

**Chinese Fairy: **I just realized that this was kinda like a sequel to "Gods Do Not Bleed" and it brought Robin and Superboy closer. Closer is something I like between my muses and I am happy that I got to post another story. I AM ON A ROLE!

I hope everyone enjoyed this and I will try and update "Pawns Can Feel Too" as soon as possible!

Please excuse this unbeta'd story and hope you all enjoyed!

Take care~


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